Child Development and Public Health

Child Development and Public Health

Immunizations

As a mom getting ready to send her son off to college, I found myself pulling out his immunization record. Apparently immunizations aren’t just for infants and babies they are for all ages. My son needs a vaccination for Meningitis which is a common illness that happens to freshmen in college which can be deadly.  The most commonly asked question by parents is why immunize? The purpose of immunization is to build the persons immune system against harmful diseases in hopes to eradicate the disease. According to the Center for Disease Control Diseases are becoming rare due to vaccinations. It's true; some diseases (like polio and diphtheria) are becoming very rare in the U.S. Of course, they are becoming rare largely because we have been vaccinating against them. It recommended continuing vaccinating for future generations.

I turned my attentions to Canada and looked at their public health practices and thoughts on vaccinations and I found they share the same views and us Americans. In Canada, vaccines to prevent the following diseases are considered routine, and are given free of charge to children in all provinces and territories:

       diphtheria;

       tetanus (lockjaw);

       pertussis (whooping cough);

       polio;

       rubella (German measles);

       measles (red measles);

       mumps;

       hepatitis B; and

       Haemophilus influenza type b disease.

I was impressed by the fact that they make these free for all children which is an area Americans are still struggling with. I linked the cdc frequently asked questions page in the word Immunizations listed above.

Resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention- http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/default.htm

Health Canada- http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/med/immuniz-eng.php